Vulnerability is an asset

Nana Amoah
Jul 27, 2017 · 2 min read

Today I had a tough conversation at work — it is what some may call a heart to heart chat. With experience I’ve come to realize that the earlier colleagues can be real with each other and call out the elephant in the room, the more effective people can collaborate, operate as teams and drive more impact in the workplace. And today my intuition did not fail me.

I knew it could be a risky move to show vulnerability at such an early stage of my experience at a new company but on the flip side I also knew it would save me time, corporate swirl and having to engage in damage control down the line. Instead of avoiding being up front with people, taking a mature approach to reach across the table will often yield you better results than anticipated — even if you have to initiate, do it. Why you may ask? Well, it’s pretty simple.

Be honest but not defensive (image source)

When we speak from the heart and can show a level of humility, it begins to deconstruct negative perceptions, it opens up an opportunity to address miscommunication/misunderstanding and most importantly it makes you show up as the one thing we often forget in the workplace — ‘ we are human first’. Regardless of titles, experience, roles — our commonality is in our humanity. Continuous awareness and intentional use of this as an asset in building trust with colleagues can be a game changer in resolving conflict and setting you up for success. But these should never be used as a medium to point fingers or get emotional — candid is to be practical, logical and to the point but always remaining professional. After speaking candidly with my colleague today about concerns and misconceptions, we got to a great place of aligning on how we can work well together going forward.

The next time you are faced with a sensitive situation or tense work relationship, push egos aside and lean in by reaching out to the other party to have a real conversation. You’ll be surprised by the amount of insight you can share and receive by just starting with a question as basic as “What’s going on?”

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